Honey extractor



A. F. HODGSON HON Jan. 31, 1928.

E! EXTRACTOR Filed June 9, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTUR, MX/i Jim Jan.31, 1928. I 1,657,717

A. F. HODGSON norm EXTRACTOR Filed June 9, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet sPatented Jan. 31, 192 8.

ARTHUR r. HonGsoN, or'zranvrsgorirnnro; CANADA;

HONEY ExrnhcroR.

Application filed mile 9, 1927. Serial no. 197,686

My invention relates to improvements in honey extractors with moreparticular re-.

taininga valuable saving in labor andtime aiurther object is to providean improved construction for the rotor and the manner of mounting andsupporting the combs there in whereby the tendency to damage the frailcomb structure during extraction is greatly reduced; a further object isto provide a very reliable and secure manner of holding the combs in therotor during extraction so that they cannot shift from their properpositions therein; a further object is to de vise such an extractor'whch will he of simple and inexpensive construction and which will jectis to provide anovel form of comb container for use in this typeotextractor which.

will possess many advantageous features and which may also be used forstraining honey from c appings in this type of extractor.

Further objects will appear inthe course of the following specification;

My invention consists in the constructionrecton ot the arrows.

Fig, 3 is a top plan View of a circitilarbase plate forming part of therotor usedin'the iorm'illustrated in Figs. l and 2,the position of oneof a number of comb containerssnpported in the rotor upon said baseplate being indicated inbroken lines. I

Fig. at is a perspective view ofa novel form of comb container used inmy invention.

Fig. 5 is*a detached fragmentary vertical section of a portion of therotor shown in have large capacity; and a still further ob- Figs 1 and2showing a comb container and the position of a comb therein, the sectionbeing taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. (iis a top plan view of one of m comb containers showing aperiorated sieve which may" be detac'hably.connected thereto in order tostrain the honey from cappings as will be later referred to. I

F ig; 7 is a front elevation of 6 lookingin the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 8 is a central, vertical section taken similarly to Fig. 2 andillustrating a slightly modified construction" for. the rotor,

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8 looking inthe direction of the arrows; 1,. p i

In the drawings; like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the var ous views. 7

Reference will first be made to the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5inclusive.

In this form my improved extractlorcomprises a cylindrical tub or'casing 10 which is open at the top and is provided with any suitablebottom 11 which in the form shown is dishedupwardly. y p

A cross member 12 extends diametrically across the top of the casing andis suit-ably secured in position. I g v A vertical shaft 13' is mountedaxially within'the casing and asuitahle thrust hearing 14 is providedfor the lower end'thereof. This shatt is journall'ed within the crossbar 12 which bar provides a bearing for the upper end of the shaft. I

Secure'dto the shaft 13 within the casing 10 is a rotor which will be"referred to collectively by the numeral 15. p I

This rotor comprises a? circular base plate 16 fixedly gamete the shaft13 adjacent to the lower end thereof and iii-spaced relation abovethebottom of the casing lso that a honey space 17 is providedtherebelow.

The plate 16' is solid throughout, that is. it hasv no openings thereinexcept the central opening 18 for thejshatt, 13. The purpose of thisfeature will be later referred to.

Upon the upper face of the plate 16 are six raised portion's19f equallyspaced circumt'erentially about the plate. These raised portions 19 formpositioning or locating means for comb containers as will later be"explained, v I 1 Upper and lower flanged fittings 2O and 21- are'fixedly secured upon'the shaft 13 and IOU llU

extending from these fittins are radial arms or spokes 22, the" spokesbeing positioned vertically above the raised portions 19 on the baseplate 16.

Upper and lower annular bands 23 and 24: are carried by the outer endsof these spokes 22.

The rotor 15 comprises the shaft 13, base plate 16, flanged fittings 20and 21, spokes 22 and the annular bands 23 and 24 and this rotor isrotatably mounted within the casing 10 for rotation about a verticalaxis.

Any suitable means for rotating the shaft 13 may be provided and thishas been merely indicated diagrammatically by the friction discs 25 and26and the drive shaft 27 and pulley 28.

Also any suitable brake mechanism for the rotor may be employed and thisis merely indicated diagrammatically by the numeral 29.

Six comb containers 30 are employed and these are removably supportedwithin the rotor.

Each container 30 is formed with two arcuate end walls 31 which may bemade of wood.

The rear and side walls 32 and 33 respectfully are of sheet metal andmaybe in a single piece.

The construction of the container is such that it is open on its frontface, which is that of greater radius and is entirely enclosed on allother faces so that noair may enter the container except over the frontface. The purpose of this will be later explained.

Secured upon the inner faces of the end walls 31 of each container are anumber of spaced apart protuberances in the form of raised strips orbars 34.

The sides of these bars 34: are tapered towards the rear wall 32 of thecontainer so that parallel sided grooves 35 are formed between adjacentbars. Also the bars in the top and bottom end walls are Vertically aboveeach other so that the grooves 35 are also vertically above each other.c

There are eight grooves 35 provided at each end wall so that eachcontainer will accommodate eight combs.

To the upperend wall 31 of each container is secured a handle 36.

An outlet tap 37 for the extracted honey is provided at the bottom ofthe casing 10.

In the modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the construction is much thesame except that in this case an annular shield 38 is carried bytherotor which shield is of gradually increasing diameter from top tobottom.

In this case the lower end of this shield is secured about the peripheryof a base plate 39 and in order to provide means for the extracted honeyto pass downwardly the base plate in this case is formed with recesses40. This base plate 39 in this case is similar to the base plate 16 usedin the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except that it is formed with therecesses 40.

Also in this case only one set of spokes 22 are required which spokessupport the upper end of the shield 38.

In this form spacing rings 41 and 42 are carried upon the inner face ofthe shield 38 the purpose of which will be described hereinafter. i

In other respects the construction in Figs. 8 and 9 is the same as thatalready described.

In Figs. (5 and 7 is illustrated a fitting whereby my containers may beused for straining honey from cappings in my extractor.

This fitting consists of a perforated sieve -13 the verti all edges ofwhich are bent at 4A to form slips by which the sieve may be detachablymounted upon the container so as to cover the open front face thereof.

At the top and bottom of the sieve 43 spacing or filler strips 4.) aresecured to the outer face of the sieve (see Figs. (5 and 7) so as toform raised portions projecting from the outer face of the sieve, thepurpose of which will later be explained.

The construction and operation of my device is as follows.

In loading the containers 30 with the combs, the container is laid uponits rear face with the open front face upward and the combs as they areuncapped are inserted into the container. The bottom of the comb entersfirst and the grooves 35 form guides for the ends of the comb frame.

lVhen fully inserted into the container, the overhanging portions of thetop bar 46 of the comb frame trikes against the edges of the end walls31 of the container (see Fig. 5) so that the top bar 46 of the combprojects slightly beyond the front face of the container.

This is clearly shown in Figs. l-2-5 and 8.

Since the container 30 is entirely closed on all but the front face andis leak proof to honey it. is very convenient and economical in loadingsince all drip from the uncapped combs is caught therein.

When the container is full of combs, it is raised into the uprightposition shown in Fig. 4 and lifted by the handle 36 and inserteddownwardly into its position within the rotor.

The disposition of the various parts is such that when the filledcontainer is in position within the rotor. it firmly held in positionand cannot shift at all.

The annular strips 23 and E24: engage the top bars 46 of the combs andhold them against radial movement outward and the protuberanees 19 uponthe base plate 16, and the spokes 22 hold the container against cirllilm or

(Bil

centrifugal force as the rotor rotates duringextnction.

As the/rotor is rotatedthe honey is ext'rzicted from both sides of thecombs simultancously.

rhveryvaluable feature of my invention l'iesin the fact that'thecontainersjare coinpletely closed to the admission of airthere into onall faces except the front face through Which-open front face theextracted honey is discharged.

Hitherto one of the great troubles with extractors of this type has beenthe breakage of the comb structure and this has been due in a greatmeasure to therush of air over the cell structure during extraction. Therotor has functionedlike a-bloWer and there has been a violent rush ofair outwardly between the combs, the cell walls acting like small sails.

This has been entirely overcome in my machine, since absolutely no aircan enter the container from either the sides, ends or rear and theresult of this is that the combs are rotating during extraction inperfectly still air. This is a most important improve ment; i

The badeifects of this blower action is still further eliminated in myconstruction by having the base plate 16" ofthe rotor Without openingsin the central portion thereof as this solid plate prevents anycirculation of air vertically through the rotor.

A further feature of this construction is that under the action ofcentrifugal force air in my containers becomes rarefied which greatlyaids extraction. V

hen extraction is. complete the containers are lifted from the rotor andthe extracted combs removed therefrom.

.By providing a duplicate set of containers, when one set is being usedin the extractor, the operator could be employing his time in loadingthe second setandth us a valuable It does not matter how long the cappedcombsremain in the containers before they are placed insaving; in timewould be made.

the extractor since all drip is caught and held in the leakproof'container; i

In the operation of the modified form shown in Figs. 8 and 9 theoperation is much the same except that the shieldSS ispro-' videdand'this shield is tapered outwardly towards the bottom so that theaction of centrifugalface tends to accelerate the flow of extractedhoney downwardly over this shield.

Inusing my container to strainhoney from cappmgs, the container is laidon its rear face as'before and" filled With cappings;

The sieve i3 is then placed thereonto cover the open front face of thecontainer and the containers are inserted into the rotor as alreadyexplained.

In this case, since the thickness of the sieve 43 Wouldnot be asgreat asthat ofthe top bars 4.6of the comb frames, it will prob ably benecessary to make up for this difference by providing spacing or fillerstrips 45 so that the thickness of the sieve 43 and filler strips 45 asindicated by the arrows A. in Fig. (5 will be equal'to the distance byWhich the top bar 46 of the comb normally projects beyond the front faceof the container. I i

This is necessary so thatthe annular bands 23 and 2a of the rotor (seeFigs. 2 and will contact with the filler strips 45 in order to hold thecontainers firmly in position within the rotor. In other words thethickness of the sieve and filler strips 45 is together equal to thethickness of top bar 16 of the comb.

From the foregoing itWill be evident that I have devised improvements inhoney extractors whereby the objects of my invention have been attained.

Various modifications may be made in my invention Without departing fromthe spirit thereof or the scope of the 'claims and therefore the exactforms shown are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limitingsense and I desire, thatonly such limitations shall be placed thereon asareiniposed by the prior art or are specifically set 'forthin theappended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a honey extractor, a comb container therefora'dapted toaccommodate a plurality of combs and comprising, end, side andrcar Wallscompletely closing said container to the passage of air thereintoi onthe respectie'e faces thereof, the container being open over its frontface, and comb holding means upon the inner faces of the end Walls ofthe container. V

2. In a-honeyextractor, a. comb container therefor adapted toaccommodate a plurality I 3. In a honey extractor, a comb containertherefor adapted to accommodatea plural 1ty of combs and comprising",end, side and rear wvalls completely closing said contain'er' to thepassage ofair'thereinto on the respective faces thereof, the containerbeing open over its front face, and spaced apart protuberances upontheinner faces of the end'walls of the container, said protuber ancesconstituting comb separating and positioning means. i

t. In a honey extractor, a comb container therefor adapted toaccommodate a plurality of combs and comprising, end, side and rearwalls completely closing said container to the passage of air thereintoon the respective faces thereof, the end walls being of arcuate shape,the front face of the con tainer being that of the greater radius andbeing open, radially disposed, spaced apart, raised bars upon the innerfaces of the end walls, adjacent bars forming grooves there between. a

5. In a honey extractor, a comb container therefor adapted toaccommodate a plural ity of combs and comprising, end, side and rearwalls completely closing said container to the passage of air thereintoon the respective faces thereof, the end walls being of arcuate shape,the front face of the container being that of the greater radius andbeing open, radially disposed, spaced apart, raised, tapered bars uponthe inner faces of the end walls, adjacent bars forming parallel sidedgrooves therebetween.

(3. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casin a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported within the rotor and disposedcircumferentially about the rotor, each container adapted to accommodatea plurality of combs therein with their planes vertical and disposedradially, and means for positioning the containers both radially andcircumferentially within the rotor.

7. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a. vertical axis, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported within the rotor and disposedcircumferentially about the rotor, each container adapted to accommodatea plurality of combs therein with their planes vertical and disposedradially, each container being open over the face thereof which isdirected radially outward and, closed to the passage of air thereinto onall other faces, and means for positioning the containers both radiallyand circumferentially within the rotor.

8. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported within the rotor and disposedcircuinfercntially, about the rotor, each container adapted toaccommodate a pluality of combs therein with their planes vertical anddisposed radially, each container being open over the face thereof whichis directed radially outward and closed to the passage of air thereintoan all other faces, means for positioning the containers both radiallyand cireumferentially within the rotor, and means for retaining thecombs in position within the containers.

9. in a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of combscontainers removably supported within the rotor, each container being ofarcuate shape as viewed from above and said containers disposedcircumferentially about the rotor with the faces of greater radiidirected outwardly, each container adapted to accommodate aplurality ofcombs with their planes disposed vertically and radially, and means forpositioning the containers both radially and circumferentially withinthe rotor.

10. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of combcontainers renn'ivably supported within the rotor, cach container beingof areaate shape as viewed from above and said containers disposedcircumferentially about the rotor with the faces of greater radiidirected outwardly, said outwardly directed faces of the containersbeing open and the containers being closed to the passage of airthercinto on all other faces, each container adapted to accommodate aplurality of combs with their planes disposed vertically and radially,and means for positioning the containers both radially andcircumferentially within the rotor.

11. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a verticalaxis, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported within the rotor and adapted forinsertion thereinto from the top thereof, a handle at the upper end ofeaclr container, each container being of arcuate shape as viewed fromabove. and said containers disposed circumferentially about the rotorwith the faces of greater radii directedoutwardly, said outwardlydirected faces of the containers being open and the containers beingclosed to the passage of air thcreinto on all other faccs, eachcontainer adapted to aceommodate a plurality of combs with their planesvertical and disposed radially within the rotor, means for positioningthe containers both radially and circmnferentially within the rotor,positioning means for the combs at the top and bottom ends of thecontainers, and means for preventing movement of the combs radiallyoutwardly.

12. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported within the rotor and. adapted forinsertion thercinto from the top thereof, a handle at the upper end ofeach container, each container being of arcuatc shape as viewed fromabove and said containers disposed circumferentially about the rotorwith the faces of greater radii ditill ' a casmg,

rectcd outwardly, said outwardly directed. faces of the containers beingopen and the containers being closed to the passage of air thereinto onall other faces, each container adapted to accommodate a plurality ofcombs with their planes vertical and disposed radially within the rotor,means for positioning the containers both radially and circumferentiallywithin the rotor, positioning means for the combs at the top and bottomends of the containers, and means extending circumferentially about therotor and across the outer open faces of the containers, c'iid meansengaging the combs in the containers to prevent movement radially outard thereof.

13. In a honey extractor, in combination,

a rotor mounted therein for rotation about a vertical axis, a pluralityof comb containers removably supported within the rotor and adapted forinsertion thereinto from the top thereof, a handle at the upper end ofeach container, each container being of arcuatc shape as viewed fromabove and said containers disposed circumferentially about the rotorwith the faces of greater radii directed outwardly, said outwardlydirected faces of the containers being open and the containers beingclosed to the passage of air thereinto on all other faces, eachcontainer adapted to accommodate a plurality of combs withtheir planesvertical and disposed radially within the rotor, means for positioningthe containers both radially and circumferentially within the rotor,positioning means for the combs at the top and bot tom ends of thecontainers, and an annular strip extending circumferentially about therotor and across the outer open faces of the containers, saidstripengaging the combs in the containers, to prevent movement radiallyoutward thereof. T

let. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, said rotor comprising ahorizontally disposed circular base plate, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported upon said base plate, each containerbeing of arcuate shape as viewed from above and said containers disposedcircumfcrentially about the baseplate with the faces of greater radiidirected outwardly and means for positiiming the containers bothradially and circumferentially within the rotor.

In a honey extractor, in combination, a. casing, a rotor mounted thereinfor rota- 1 ion about a verticalaxis, a plurality of comb containersreinovably supported within the rotor and adapted for insertionthereinto from the top thereof, a handle at the upper end of eachcontainer, each container being of arcuateshape as viewed from above,said containers disposed circumferentially about the rotor with thefaces of greater radii directed outwardly, said outwardly directed facesof the containers being open and the containers being closed to thepassage of air thereinto on all other faces, each container adapted toaccommodate a plurality of combs with their planes vertical and disposedradially within the rotor, means for positioning the containers bothradially and circumferentially within the rotor, positioning means forthe combs at the top and bottom ends of the containers, an annularshield carried by the rotor and extending thereabout, said shield spacedradially outward from the outer faces of the containers and extendingthe entire height of the containers, and spacing rings carried by theinner face of said shield and extending circumferentially thereabout,said rings engaging the combs in the containers to prevent radiallyoutward movement thereof.

16. In a honey extractor, in combination, a casing, a rotor mountedtherein for rotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of combcontainers removably supported within the rotor and and adapted forinsertion thereinto from the top thereof, a handle at the upper end ofeach container, each container being of arcuate shape as viewed fromabove, and said containers disposed circumferentially about the rotorwith the faces of greater radii directed outwardly, said outwardlydirected faces of the containers being open and the containers beingclosed to the passage of air thereinto on all other faces, each con tainer adapted to accommodate a plurality of combs with their planesvertical and dis-. posed radially within the rotor, means forpositioning the containers both radially and circumferentially withinthe rotor, positioning means for the combs at the top and bottom ends ofthe containers, an annular shield carried by the rotor and extendingthereabout, said shield spaced radially outward from the outer faces ofthe containers, and extending the entire height of thecontaincrs, saidshield being of gradually increasing diameter from the top to the bottomthereof, and spacing rings carried by the inner face of said shield andextending circumferentially thereabout said rings engaging the combs inthe containers, to prevent radially ontward movement thereof.

17. In a honey extractor, a removable container open on one face andentirely enclosed and leak proof to honey on all other faces,

and a perforated sieve element detachably mounted upon the container andextending over said open face. i

18. In a honey extractor, a reinovablc container open on one face andentirely enclosed and leak proof to honey on all other faces, aperforated sieve element detachably mounted upon the container andextending over saidopen face, and a spacing strip at tached to the outerface of said sieve element.

ARTHUR F. HODGSON.

no r

